Are you a working mom who wants some easy meals under your belt?  Are you a stay-at-home mom who doesn’t have a bunch of time (or hands!) available to make dinner?  No matter your situation, we all want to have some easy meals at our disposal. Here are some meal ideas for you that are centered around hamburger. (See my other post on meal ideas involving chicken.)  Since many of these use browned beef, you could easily brown all the hamburger at the same time, reserving some for later use. Mess up 1 pan and get many meals out of it!

Meal Idea #1: Simple Macaroni and Beef with Cheese

Slightly Adapted from Michael Ruhlman 

Servings: 4-6 (easily)

Tip: This is very easy to pull together or to make on the weekend and then pop in the oven when ready to bake. If you do bake it straight from the frig, you’ll want to increase the baking time since it isn’t starting from room temperature. Check the source for instructions on freezing — this is very freezer friendly!

Ingredients:
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon canola oil
salt to taste
optional seasonings: black pepper, oregano, cumin, coriander, chopped garlic, hot smoked paprika, chilli powder—whatever you’re in the mood for
28 ounces can tomatoes, petite diced or crushed
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 box macaroni
1 cup each grated cheddar and mozzarella cheeses

Directions:
1. Cook the onions with the oil and a little salt.

2. Add the beef and cook it, breaking it up as you do. Add the seasonings that you’ve chosen.

3. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook for an hour.

4. Cook the macaroni in boiling water till it’s half done. Drain it and add it to the tomatoes.

5. Stir it into the sauce. Taste it. Add more salt and other seasonings as needed, and cover.

6. When it’s cooled and the pasta has absorbed the tomato juices, transfer it to a 9×13 baking dish and cover it with foil.

7. Bake in a 400 degree oven till it’s piping hot (about 45 minutes if it’s cold to room temperature). Just before you’re ready to eat, remove the foil, cover macaroni with the cheese and broil till it looks beautiful.

Meal Idea #2: Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti

Source: Plain Chicken 

Ingredients:
12 oz spaghetti
1 (28 ounce) jars prepared spaghetti sauce
1 lb lean ground beef
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp minced)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

2. In a skillet, brown the ground beef until cooked through; drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce. Set aside.

3. Cook spaghetti according to directions on packet. Drain and place cooked spaghetti in bowl.

4. Add cream cheese, Italian Seasoning and minced garlic to spaghetti. Stir until cream cheese is melted and the spaghetti is thoroughly coated.

5. Lightly grease a 9×13 pan. Spread a small amount of meat sauce in the bottom of the dish.

6. Put spaghetti on top of sauce and top with remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.

7. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

Meal Idea #3: French Bread Pizza

Source: The Frugal Girl 

Tip: This is a recipe that isn’t really a recipe. It’s just a way of thinking of making pizza a little outside of the box. Pizza doesn’t have to be on pizza dough. You can make pizzas on top of other types of bread – including french bread, hamburger buns, hoagie buns or english muffins. In this way, it can be very easy to put different toppings on each person’s pizza.

Ingredients:
French bread loaves
Prepared tomato sauce
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Pizza toppings like ground hamburger, pepperoni, green peppers, onion, mushroom

Directions:
1. Cut the French bread loaves in half lengthwise. Place on cookie sheet. Sometimes to add more toppings, I remove some of the bread inside to hollow it out a little bit. Don’t remove too much, otherwise it will get soggy.

2. Spread them with pizza sauce.

3. Sprinkle the pizzas with mozzarella cheese.

4. And add whatever toppings you like.

5. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the crust is crispy and the cheese is melted.

Meal Idea #4: Oven Baked Meatball Subs

Source: Home Cooking Memories 

Tip: If you cooked the meatballs the night or weekend before, you could just microwave the meatballs and sauce the day you want to prepare the meal, saving time.

Ingredients:
Sandwich rolls (cut with one side intact)
Cooked Meatballs (your favorite recipe or frozen, pre-made meatballs)
Pasta Sauce (homemade or jarred)
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:
1. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Place your frozen cooked meatballs or homemade cooked meatballs in a large pot.
3. Cover with your pasta sauce. Gently fold the meatballs with the sauce.

4. Heat the meatballs and sauce on low-medium, stirring occasionally, until the meatballs are heated thoroughly.

5. Fill a roll with as many meatballs as you can fit (usually 4-5 meatballs, depends on size of meatballs and the size of the roll). Top with more pasta sauce from your pot.

6. Place filled sandwich rolls closely on baking sheet. Top each sandwich with shredded mozzarella cheese. You can put into a 9×13 pan if you need a smaller pan.

7. Bake until cheese is melted, hot, and bubbly.

Meal Idea #5: Taco Soup

Tip: This one is great for the crockpot! But it doesn’t take too long to heat up, so I tend to make it on the weekend, let it simmer for just a couple of hours in the crockpot, then reheat it on the week night that I want it.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 pkg taco seasonings
1 pkg dry Ranch seasonings
2 large cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can Rotel tomatoes, undrained
1 can each: black beans, pinto beans, whole kernel corn.
(optional) sour cream, Frito chips, cheese (I like Fritos!)

Directions:
1. Brown meat and onion. Drain. Add seasonings.

2. Drain beans and corn. Add to meat along with tomatoes.

3. Simmer until well blended and hot.

4. Add a bit of cheddar cheese, sour cream or Fritos when serving.

What are your favorite, easy weeknight meals?

As the primary meal-maker in my family, I love meals that are easy to prepare. Meals that are time-consuming to prepare usually only get made on the weekends. Weeknights are for easy meals! Today, I’ll share some of my go-to favorites. Maybe they’ll suit your family as well!

The big thing that I like about many of these meals is that they have plenty of vegetables in them, so it cuts down on the number of side dishes I’ll make!

Meal Idea #1: Chicken Tacos (from Budget Savvy Diva)

Serves: 4-6

Tip: Since this recipe doesn’t take all day to cook, it’s a good one to make on a Sunday afternoon, pack away in the refrigerator and just reheat the meat for a quick weeknight meal.

Ingredients:
1.5 – 2 pounds of skinless chicken breast – frozen or thawed
1 packet of taco seasoning (or you can make your own)
1 can (10) ounces of Rotel
Taco stuff — tortillas, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, whatever your family likes.

Directions:
1. Set your crock pot to low and place taco seasoning, chicken and Rotel together. Mix.
2. If chicken is frozen, it will take about six hours. If it was already thawed, it will be done in 3-4.
3. Take two forks and pull apart the chicken and mix it into the awesome juices.
4. If there’s not enough liquid, add a little chicken stock.
5. Serve on tortillas and add the toppings of your choice.

Meal Idea #2: Chicken Alfredo Bake

Serves: 4

Tip: The hardest part of this meal is the prep work — you have 3 pots going with pasta, veggies and chicken. If you had time the night before, you could steam the veggies, cook the chicken and boil the pasta and assemble it together. The day you want to serve it, just pop it in the oven when you come home from work. 30 minutes later, you’ll have a great meal!

Ingredients:
1/2 pound chicken, cooked, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 bag California mix frozen veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
1 jar Alfredo sauce
8 ounces mozzerella cheese
8 ounces bow tie pasta
Garlic powder

Directions:
1. Boil pasta noodles until al dente.  Steam veggies according to the package.
2. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces and brown chicken with some garlic powder.
3. Once pasta is done, drain.
4. In an 8×8 or 9×9 inch dish, combine chicken, alfredo, veggies together.
5. Top with mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake at 350 until cheese is brown for about 30 minutes.

Meal Idea #3: Jambalaya (from Pennies On A Platter)

Serves: 4 (easily)

Tip: To make this easier, when I’m preparing one of them, I really prepare two or three of them. While I have the rice and spices out, it’s easy to measure them one or two more times and store them in a baggie until next time. Also, if you brown chicken for another recipe, just brown a little more and store in the frig until you’re ready to make this. Brown once — make two meals!

If you’re making this for little ones and are afraid it will be too spicy, just omit the cayenne pepper — this dish can pack a punch!

Ingredients:
1 cup long-grain white rice
3 Tablespoons dried minced onion
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 Tablespoon beef bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon each of dried thyme, garlic powder, black pepper
1/4 teaspoon each of cayenne pepper and salt
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups water
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 pound fully cooked smoked sausage, such as andouille, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 pound chicken

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl or canister, combine the rice, onion, parsley, bouillon, thyme, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, salt and bay leaf. Stir to fully mix. (This mixture can be stored in an airtight container for up to 6 months.)

2. In a Dutch oven or a large heavy-bottom saucepan, combine the rice mixture with the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Discard the bay leaf and serve while hot.

Meal Idea #4: Saucy Chicken Broccoli Bake (from Tammy’s Recipes)

Serves: 8

Tip: If you make any other dishes that use rice during the week, make twice the amount and just reheat the rice for this meal. This actually makes quite a bit, so I’ll often half the recipe, but this also makes wonderful leftovers!

Ingredients:
16 ounces frozen broccoli florets (or about 3 cups fresh broccoli florets)
3 cups cooked cubed chicken
pepper
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 cup chicken broth
paprika, optional
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups rice (uncooked measurement), cooked according to package instructions (should make 4 1/5 cups of cooked rice)

Instructions:
1. In covered saucepan, cook broccoli in water just until tender, about 5 minutes.

2. In greased 9 x 13 baking dish, spread broccoli across bottom and sprinkle chicken evenly on top. Generously sprinkle black pepper over chicken.

3. In mixing bowl, combine cream soups, mayonnaise, curry powder, and chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle paprika on top if desired.

4. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Spread cheese on top and bake 5-10 minutes longer, until melted and slightly browned.

5. While casserole is baking, cook rice. Serve the chicken and broccoli mixture over hot rice.

Meal Idea #5: Creamy Chicken Pockets (from Pennies on A Platter)

Tip: This is another one that you can make most of it the night before. Just brown the chicken (or use some that you had leftover from some other meals!) and combine the ingredients to make the insides of the pockets. When you’re ready to make the meal, spread out the crescent rolls, stuff them, and bake them! I leave the breadcrumbs off the top of them just to make it even easier.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 small chicken breasts, diced
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken with the onions and garlic.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and 1 tablespoon softened butter until smooth. Stir in the cooked chicken, onions and garlic. Add the salts, pepper and milk. Mix well.

4. Separate the crescent roll dough into the eight triangles. Dollop a tablespoon of filling into the center of each triangle and fold the corners up to seal. Press and seal firmly. Place on ungreased baking sheet or stone and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

5. (optional) Brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle with the bread crumbs.

6. Bake for 11 – 13 minutes, or until golden brown.

To heat up leftovers, bake in a preheated 350˚F oven for 10 minutes.

What are your favorite, easy weeknight meals?

It’s pumpkin season, and while the lattes and muffins may be nice, we wanted to incorporate pumpkin into dinner. This Cream of Pumpkin soup is seasonal, nutritious and tasty. Whip some up this weekend and have leftovers during the week (if you don’t devour it in on sitting).

Get the recipe at The Nest >>

What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe?

Plus, more from The Bump:

20 Ways to Eat Better

7 Quick and Easy Recipes for the New Mom

Fun Ways to Lose Baby Weight